


I’m not so lonely when I’m with you

by JaimeandBrienneOTP



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bullying, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Romance, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26881237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaimeandBrienneOTP/pseuds/JaimeandBrienneOTP
Summary: When Brienne moves in with the gorgeous looking Jaime Lannister for her first year at college, they start off on the wrong foot. Brienne doesn't like Jaime and Jaime certainly doesn't like Brienne. Untill slowly they get to know each other better and disover that they have more in common than they thought...
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 38
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this story has been on my mind for quite a while now. I've wanted to make this into a full multi chapter fic, but i always thought it wasn't good enough (especially with all the amazing Braime fanfic writers out there <3). But i really really wanted to contribute to the Braime fandom so i decided to post this fic. Thank you Olaya for being so enthusiastic about this story and finally made me write it! This one is for you <3.
> 
> I'm not a native speaker, so any grammatical and spelling errors are mine. The characters belong to George R.R. Martin.

Brienne was looking at the numbers on the doors. She was sure this was the right building. Then finally she found wat she was looking for; number 19 was on the second floor. She climbed the stairs and stopped in front of the door. She looked at her watch. It was almost 9 PM. She was a bit early, but she hated to be late. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There was no response, even though she could see the light underneath the door. She raised her hand to knock again, when the door was being opened and she laid eyes on the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His eyes were gorgeously green, his hair was ruffled like he just woke up and he had a days old stubble on his chin. When her eyes travelled down his body she saw that he wasn’t wearing a shirt and was only in his boxer shorts. Her eyes immediately shut up to his face again, but he saw her looking at him. She could feel her face turning red. And not the cute, girlish red, no Brienne's face litterally looked like a tomato when she blushed. Brienne hated it that her face always gave away her feelings.

“Like what you see?” The man in front of her, who must be Jaime Lannister, asked with a smirk.

Brienne decided to ignore him and instead introduced herself.

“I’m Brienne Tarth, I’m you’re new roommate.”

“Ah, yes of course. Come in wench. I’m Jaime Lannister.”

Jaime turned around and walked inside the apartment. Brienne gritted her teeth.

“My name is Brienne.”

Honestly, who even used the word wench nowadays? Brienne followed Jaime inside the apartment. It wasn’t too big, but there certainly was enough room for two people to live in it. In the living room she saw one large couch and a comfortable looking chair with a massive flatscreen tv in front of it. Next to the living room there was a small, but cosy kitchen. Even though it was only 9 PM, Brienne has had a busy day so she felt herself become quite tired.

“Jaime, which room is mine? I like to get settled in.”

“If you go down the hall, it’s the second door on your right. The bathroom is the first door on your left. If you need anything, I’ll be here.”

“Thanks Jaime, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, wench.”

Brienne was too tired to reply that her name was, in fact, not wench. She walked down the hall and soon found herself standing in what would be her new room. It was quite big actually, bigger than she would’ve thought. The bed was next to a large window, which made the room quite light. After she unpacked everything, she changed into her night clothing and got in bed. She promised to call her father about Westeros university and her new housemate, but she decided that that could wait. She honestly couldn’t keep her eyes open for one more second. She laid down onto the bed and before her head even touched the pillow, Brienne was already asleep.

~

The next day she woke up well rested. When she walked into the kitchen she found that Jaime was already there. He turned around and gave her a quick look.

“You’re much uglier in daylight.”

Brienne flinched just a little at that. When she was younger she hated those harsh comments from people about the way she looked. Back home on Tarth she didn’t fit in anywhere and because of her hight, her mascular appearance and her overall ugliness. You could say that she was used to these harsh comments and over time they didn’t hurt as much as they used to. The comment Jaime just made was actually one of the nicer comments people have made about her appearances.

“Good morning to you too, Jaime.” She said as she walked to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Of course he had to look like half a god when he wakes up. With his hair tousled and just a pair of jeans on his body he could’ve just walked out of one of those magazines. He even had those V lines that went from his hips into his pants that many girl would swoon over.

Brienne swallowed. “Honestly don’t you own any shirts?” She asked him.

“I haven’t heard any complains about it before.” He winked at her. “But as it happens, all my good shirts are at the dry cleaning, so I don’t have a shirt to wear at the moment.”

She just grunted something inaudible, sat at the dining table and ate her breakfast in silence.

-

It’s been two weeks of the start of the new semester of college. Brienne majored in history. She grew up on Tarth and her father always took her to museums and told her about the most epic battles that took place in history. She especially loved the story’s about the first female knight in history. Because of Brienne’s appearances, with her big stature, her ugly face, crooked teeth and her nose that has been broken more than once, Brienne has been the target to a lot of bullies. Growing up she didn’t have any friends – no one wanted to be associated with big ugly Brienne. High school was even worse. Classmates bullied her, she was never invited to any parties, no one ever wanted to sit next to her and one particular nasty boy named Ron Connington even faked liking her, only to humiliate her in front of the whole class. He only gave her a rose and said that was all she was ever going to get. Thinking back to it still hurt. And ever since that day Brienne hated roses. 

Her mother and brother died when she was just a baby. She only had her father and even though she loved him more then she could ever express in words, Brienne did feel lonely sometimes. When she learned about the female knight and everything she had overcome to actually become a knight, Brienne could relate to that mysterious woman and for a while she didn’t feel so lonely at all.

She hoped college would be better than high school, but it turns out that people are still assholes. She hasn’t made any friends yet – not that she expected that, she never was good at making friends at all – and mostly just sit by herself in class. Some of the guys started to nickname her ‘Brienne the Beauty’. How original of them. It seems that even in college people can’t look passed her appearances. She’s ugly and she’s a freak and she probably won’t ever be anything more then that.

Brienne was plunged in thought so she didn’t see the group of guys she passed in the hallway on her way out.

“Look who stumps by, it’s Brienne the beauty.” She heard an awfully familiar voice speak out. She turned around to see Ron Connington and his friends standing in the hallway as well. Unfortunately Ron decided to go to the same university as her. The first day at college she was shocked to see him, but decided to just ignore him. Words are wind after all.

“Are you the Kinglayer’s whore now?” She heard his friends laugh, but Brienne ignored him and just walked to the exit of the building. Even though she didn’t know Jaime Lannister very well yet, she has heard the name Kingslayer before. Apparently something happened on the soccer field a year ago. Jaime Lannister and Aerys Targaryen were on rivalling teams. No one knows exactly what happened, but during the game it got ugly. Jaime tackled Aerys Targaryen and when Aerys fell to the ground he broke his leg in three places. Aerys Targaryen was a very promising soccer player who could even become a professional. They nicknamed him ‘The king’ because he was almost undefeatable. But after Jaime’s tackle, Aerys will never be able to play soccer again, at least not at the level he used to. That’s why they call Jaime ‘The kingslayer’. She lived with Jaime for two weeks now, but she hasn’t asked him about it yet. She doesn’t plan to either. She tries to live her own life and try to ignore Jaime as much as possible. It’s not like they have much in common, so they don’t talk that much. He do jest at her every now and then but nothing worse then she has already been through.

When Brienne walks out the door she feels the sun shine on our face and when she walks home she tries to clear her head from Connington.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to read about Jaime's POV in this chapter. Jaime and Brienne discover that they have something in common.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter and i hope you guys like the update!

It’s been 4 weeks now since Brienne has moved in with him. Jaime was in desperate need of a roommate after his father cut off his money. His father, Tywin Lannister, wanted Jaime to take over the company, Lannister incorporated, after his father’s retirement. Jaime on the other hand as always been interested in history and medieval weapons. So he decided that he should follow his dream. His father, obviously, wasn’t very pleased with him and after his father saw that Jaime couldn’t be persuaded, he cut him off. Since Jaime was already living in an apartment near the campus of Westeros University he was in dying need of a roommate. When Brienne replied she seemed okay enough.

He didn’t know her very well yet, she seemed to be quite on herself. She never has any friends over and barely speaks to him. Since they majored in the same discipline he heard the gossip about Brienne. They mockingly called her ‘Brienne the beauty’ and ‘Kingslayer’s whore’. Even though he didn’t know her that much and that she is pretty boring and – let’s face it – ugly, he knew she didn’t deserve to be mocked. He didn’t care much what people said behind his back. He knew a lot of people called him ‘the kingslayer’ after what happened with Aerys, but he couldn’t be bothered that people called him that. After all: a lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.

During classes he doesn’t see much of Brienne. Since she has a lot of different classes then him they don’t see each other much. But every Wednesday they both follow the ‘medieval weaponry’ class. When Jaime takes his place that day, somewhere in the back of the classroom, he notices Brienne when she walks in.

She has her head down, not looking anyone in the eye and sits in front of the class. Even when seated, she still is taller then everyone else. She doesn’t speak to anyone and keeps her attention on her notes. He can’t help but notices some of the classmates looking at her. Some even point and laugh at her. He knows he hasn’t been very kind to her these past few weeks, but he can’t help but think that she doesn’t deserve this.

Yes she is kind of a history nerd, always sitting in front of the class, taking notes and answering all the teachers questions, but that shouldn’t make her the target of bullying. Still Jaime does nothing about it and tries to take his mind off it.

That evening Jaime is watching his favourite medieval fantasy tv-show about knights, dragons and epic fights. He is so consumed by the story that he doesn’t hear Brienne enter.

‘Are you- are you watching _Knights of Westeros_? I love that show!” Before he knows what’s happening, Brienne plops next to him on the couch, immediately consumed by the tv-show. “I just love how they portrayed Goldenhand and the female knight. They are so obviously in love with each other! It shouldn’t take long before one kisses the other.” Jaime’s mouth drops and he turns to look at Brienne. Because 1. That is the most Brienne has ever said to him and 2. She is obviously wrong.

“They are not in love with each other! Sure there is a deep respect between the characters, but Goldenhand would never get over his relationship with his sister.”

“What?!” Brienne exclaimed. “You’re kidding me, right? Goldenhand has given her an expensive sword and armor, which is like the equivalent of a dress and shoes. Plus he received a letter from his sister which he threw into the fire! He is so over her.”

Next thing he knew he is in a heated argument with Brienne about two of their favourite characters. They argue for almost an hour and Jaime is immensely enjoying himself. Brienne’s eyes lit up, because she is so passionate about the things she talks about. ‘Gods, she does have astonishing eyes’, he thought. The rest of her may not be much to look at, but the gods gifted her with the most beautiful sapphire eyes he ever laid eyes on.

After they discovered their mutual love for this tv-show it became a habit to watch it together. After college they cooked dinner, plopped on the couch and every night they watched a new episode of _Knights of Westeros_. This went on for a couple of weeks and Jaime noticed that these nights, these dinners were the highlight of his day. Every day he started to look forward to the moment they could watch the episode together and argue about what would happen next. His father never cared for his interests and even though he loved is brother Tyrion, he never really understood Jaime’s interests. It was nice to have someone he could talk to about this.

But even though they dine together every night and watch _Knights of Westeros_ together, they don’t hang out that much besides their daily binge sessions. In college they mostly ignore one another and Jaime can’t help but notice that Brienne always seems a bit… lonely. She doesn’t have any friends, not that he know off, and always sits by herself during classes.

Even though they both love the same tv-show he can’t really call them friends. More… acquaintances. So who she does or does not talk to is really none of his business. But in the month she is living with him now she has never had anyone over, he never hears her talk on the phone, except with her father once a week. And if she is home during the day she mostly sits in her room studying. Of course he isn’t worried about her. It isn’t any of his business, but it is something he notices.

Jaime knows he isn’t the most social type but he has Tyrion and Addam. Whenever he sees Brienne in college she always has her head down and it is as if she is trying to make herself as small as possible. Which really is impossible since she literally is a giant. She eats her lunch alone and even in their shared colleges he never sees her with anyone else. He’s also never seen her with a guy and wonders if she’s been with anybody. Ever. Not that it is any of his concern, and he certainly isn’t attracted to her, even though his body sometimes tells him otherwise, but he is wondering why. It is true that Brienne isn’t pretty at all and most people would even say ugly, but those eyes really are something else…

After these few weeks with her watching and arguing about _Knights of Westeros_ he’s starting to learn more and more about her. She is for example really passionate about the things she loves, like the tv-show they both watch. Her eyes lit up when she talks about it and it is as if her eyes are replaced by sapphires. She is stubborn as an ass and doesn’t take any of his shit. It is… refreshing. He is used to people kissing his ass because he is Tywin Lannister’s son and because of his good looks. But not Brienne. It is as if she is not affected by it in the least. 

One night Brienne seems a bit… off. And after they watched the new episode of Knights of Westeros, Brienne starts to shift awkwardly on the couch. He noticed the change in her body language. ‘What’s wrong”? He asked her.

Brienne looked at him with those magnificent eyes and bit her lip. Jaime fell something stir in his pants. Gods, it’s really been to long since he’s been with a woman. “It’s nothing”, she said.

He put his hand over hers. “Hey, look at me. You can ask me anything, I won’t be offended.” His eyes found hers and he smiled reassuringly at her. He doesn’t know why, but for some reason he wants to comfort her.

She seemed to have some sort of an internal battle, but at last it seemed her curiosity won.

“Jaime, what happened with Aerys?”

He should have known this question would come. He sighed and diverted his eyes. When he looked at her again, there was no judgement in her eyes, just… curiosity. He never told anyone about what happened with Aerys, because what was the point? No one would believe him. Though something in him tells him that Brienne won’t judge him. He might as well tell her what really happened. And so he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments give me life <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne desides to confront Jaime about Aerys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for who has been reading this story. It means a lot! I hope you like this update!

Ever since Brienne learned that Jaime loved the same tv-show as her, she began looking forward to these evenings. She started to actually like Jaime, since she discovered he isn’t that much of an ass after all. But still something gnawed at her. She wanted to trust Jaime, but she couldn’t really do that unless she knew what happened with Aerys.

She has heard the rumors, of course, that Jaime was supposedly jealous of Aerys and that was why he tackled him and broke his leg. But for some reason Brienne couldn’t believe that that was why Jaime did it. So she made a deal with herself: that night, after the latest episode of _Knights of Westeros_ she would ask Jaime about Aerys.

When she came home that night and saw that Jaime had already made dinner and put on the episode, she became nervous. Which was ridiculous really, because she did nothing wrong. She had a hard time concentrating on the episode, constantly biting her lip and thinking what would be the best way to confront Jaime. To ask him what happened. She was so self-absorbed that she didn’t notice that the episode was already over. ‘What’s wrong?’ Jaime asked her.

She looked at him and bit her lip. Shit. Maybe she doesn’t have to ask him about it tonight. What are the chances that he would even answer the question? ‘It’s nothing’, she heard herself say.

She wanted to stand up and get off the couch. Gods, she needed some air. But before she could do any of that he put his hands over hers. Brienne stiffened. ‘Hey, look at me. You can ask me anything, I won’t be offended,’ Jaime said. His eyes found hers and he smiled reassuringly at her. Her sapphire eyes found his emerald ones and she took a deep breath. His eyes were nothing but kind and gentle. So different then the looks she is used to receive.

Before she could stop herself, she heard herself say: ‘Jaime, what happened with Aerys?’

Jaime diverted his eyes just for a moment. She is worried that she might have offended him, but when he looks at her again, he has a determined look in his eyes.

He takes a breath and starts his story.

‘It all started with my sister, Cersei. She has always hated my brother Tyrion. Tyrion has dwarfism and I’ve always felt the need to protect him. Before he was born I was very close with my sister. We practically did everything together. I guess all twins are like that. But then Tyrion was born and my mom died in childbirth and I guess Cersei has always blamed Tyrion for mom’s death.’

Jaime took a deep breath and continued.

‘Years went by and Cersei and I never got as close as we used to. Then, one day, she came home with her new boyfriend. Aerys. He was nice enough, but there was something about him I didn’t like. Something in his eyes. I never could quite get my finger on what it was.’

Brienne got an awful feeling about this in the pit of her stomach. Jaime seemed to steady himself for what came next.

‘Cersei started to behave… differently. And even though she and I never saw eye to eye, she was still my sister. Right before that notorious soccer match, I saw Cersei in the dressing room. She was in a fight with Aerys and before I knew what was happening I saw him hit her. Cersei, strong as she is, said that she would ‘wear it as a badge of honour’. Aerys seemed to lose his mind and said that if she wouldn’t shut up, he would "honour her again". He left without saying another word. I was frozen on my spot and when Cersei thought that no one was watching, she rolled up her sleeve and I saw all these- these sigaret burn on her arm. I know Aerys always loved fire, but to actually burn Cersei like that...' Jaime swallowed. 'It was monstrous. My blood was boiling and I had this red blur for my eyes. I decided to play the game, even though I just discovered what Aerys was doing to Cersei.’

‘That day we had to play against his team and when I saw him on that field… something snapped within me. I ran toward him, tackled him and smacked him in the face. Before I could hit him again, someone pulled me off of him. That was when I discovered Aerys’ leg was in a weird shape. They called the medics and Aerys was transported to the hospital.’

Brienne looked at Jaime, eyes wide. ‘But Jaime, why didn’t you tell anyone about what happened? No one would dare call you kingslayer if they knew what had happened. What he did to Cersei, to your sister, was terrible. Everyone would understand that.’

Jaime laughed, but it sounded cynical. ‘Ned Stark was the one who pulled me off Aerys. The Lannisters and the Starks have never seen eye to eye. There is some family feud going on. He judged me guilty the moment he laid his eyes on me. Cersei never wanted to press charges against Aerys and even denied everything that I’ve seen. There was nothing I could do, so I decided not to tell anyone about it. What was the point?’

Brienne couldn’t help but see Jaime different now. This was a whole other man, then the man she met a couple months ago. How everyone judged him guilty without even knowing the full story was beyond her. She put her hand on his. ‘I’m- I’m sorry Jaime. I’m sorry you had to go through this and I’m sorry that no one would believe your story. For what it’s worth, I believe you Jaime.’

Jaime looked up at her. In his eyes she read relief, understanding, hope and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. His eyes wouldn’t let go off hers. After a while Brienne felt her cheeks warm up and she quickly diverted her gaze.

‘Brienne’, she heard Jaime say. When she looked up he was still looking at her. He cleared his throat. ‘Why are you always alone? I mean, you obviously don’t have to answer my question and you don’t have to feel like you owe me an explanation after what I’ve told you, but I couldn’t help but notice that you are always alone.’ His eyes looked so sincere. There was no mocking or cruelness in his eyes.

Brienne sighed. She could’ve known this question would come sooner or later and even though he said she doesn’t owe him an explanation, she kind of feel that she does. He just put his heart out and told her a secret that no one else knows about.

‘Well, I’ve always been different. I’m tall, ugly Brienne. I’ve always been a target for bullies. And besides my looks I’ve always liked history. If I could I would rather wear an armour and sword then a dress.’ She made a face at which Jaime laughed.

‘In high school the bullies were the worst. My dad always said that ‘words are wind’ and even though I always tried to keep that as a mantra in my mind, I couldn’t help that sometimes these words did get under my skin. Freak. Beast. Unfuckable. That are some of the things they called me and those are some of the kinder words they used to describe me.’

Brienne saw Jaime clenching his hands into fists. His eyes never left hers, but she unmistakable saw rage in them. Brienne didn’t know what to do with that. No one has ever stood up for her. So she looked down at her entwined fingers and continued.

‘Girls never wanted to be friends with me, afraid that I would affect their popularity and boys always made fun of me. Until a guy named Ron Connington came along. He was being, well nice isn’t the word, but he wasn’t being as much of a dick as the others.’

‘Ron Connington...’ Jaime mumbled. ‘Is that the same Ron Connington that goes to Westeros University?’ Brienne just nodded. She saw that Jaime’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything about it. 

‘He-‘ Brienne took a breath. ‘It turned out he pretended to like me. He even asked me to prom, in front of the whole class. I obviously thought that someone like him couldn’t possibly want to go to prom with someone like me, but I couldn’t think of another reason why he would ask me. It turned out that it was all a cruel joke. He even gave me a rose and said that that was all I ever was going to get from him, or any other man for that matter. Because who would want to be with big ugly Brienne?’

‘So after that I decided to keep my distance. If you keep people at bay, they won’t be able to hurt you. Besides I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong. I never felt more lonely then when I’m surrounded by people. Do you know what it’s like to be around a bunch of people, and still feel like the loneliest person on the planet? So yeah, that’s my depressing little story.’

Jaime was still looking at her by the time she finished her story. ‘Brienne’ he said. ‘I’m so so sorry for what that asshole did to you.’ His face, his eyes were so sincere, Brienne couldn’t help but give him a small smile.

‘Thank you, Jaime.’

After that night they never talked about what they both had shared, but they did spend more time together. Jaime even sits next to her during lunchtime and their shared classes. One day when Brienne came to college she spotted Ron Connington in the hallway. He looked… terrible. His eye was black and he had a bandage around his head and wrist. When she saw Jaime that day, she noticed he had a bruise on his knuckles. He didn’t say anything about it and neither did Brienne. Connington never called her Brienne the Beauty anymore after that incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos give me life! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyrion meets Brienne and Jaime discovers that he is totally not in love with Brienne. Nope, not even a little bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this update! <3  
> I'm not a native speaker, so i'm sorry in advance for any grammatical or spelling errors.

Ever since Jaime has spilled his heart out to Brienne, they became friends. They spend more and more time together. Not only do they talk more when they are both at home (and not just in the evenings during _Knights of Westeros)_ , but also in college. He was still mad at Ron Connington for his awful behaviour toward Brienne. Jaime knew he wasn’t being nice to Brienne when they first met, but he has never pretended to like her when he didn’t or called her awful things like ‘Brienne the Beauty’.

When he saw Ron in the hallway after he heard Brienne’s story, he snapped. It was like being on that soccer field again. He had a red blur in front of his eyes and when he walked up to Ron Connington the guy had the nerve to ask him if he ‘fucked the beauty yet’, before he laughed his ass off. Before Jaime knew what he was doing he smacked Ron in the face. And again. And again. He told him to never call her Brienne the Beauty again, but instead to call her by her name. To call her Brienne.

As far as Jaime knows, Ron hasn’t dared to come even close to Brienne.

But his friendship with Brienne has also changed a lot. Besides their daily binge sessions of _Knights of Westeros_ they now also hang out in college. Jaime sits next to Brienne during their medieval weaponry classes. During class they work together and discuss the topics the teacher, Jeor Mormont, talks about. Jaime discovers that he likes to work with Brienne. She is passionate, but also works hard. Besides, she already knows a lot about the subject and she helps Jaime with his assignments. Because of his dyslexia he has always been a bit of a slow study. Mainly because he had a hard time reading the required material for the different classes. But with Brienne it was a lot easier. She was patient with him and because they went over the material together he discovered it was easier to comprehend it all.

But not only do they spend time together during their class, they also sit together during lunch time. It wasn’t a conscious decision really, but something shifted that night he and Brienne both talked about the things they never talked about before. The first day in college, when he noticed Brienne walking into the college cafeteria called ‘Winterfell’, he waved at her and motioned for her to sit at his table. She looked confused for only a moment before she squared her shoulders and walked toward him. That was now two weeks ago and ever since then Brienne has joined him for lunch every day.

Today Jaime was sitting next to Tyrion. Tyrion, who is a couple years younger then him, also goes to Westeros college because he has always been extremely clever. Even though people always have their prejudices about Tyrion because of his dwarfism, Tyrion has never been bothered by it. Jaime has always had a close bond with his brother, because Jaime has always felt the need to protect him. Just as Tyrion was about to tell Jaime something about what happened during one of his classes, he spotted Brienne walking into the college cafeteria. Before Jaime knew what he was doing he scrambled to his feet. ‘Brienne!’ he shouted and waved like an idiot. From the corner of his eye he sees Tyrion is giving him a strange, yet knowing look. Jaime sees it, but doesn’t pay attention to it.

Brienne looked at his direction and when they lock eyes, the corner of her mouth curls into a small smile.

‘Hi’, she says when she reached the table Tyrion and Jaime were sitting at. She put down her plate and bag down, so she could join them for lunch.

Jaime was about to open his mouth to say something to her, when Tyrion spoke up. ‘I don’t believe we have officially met. I’m Tyrion Lannister. Jaime’s younger- and obviously more handsome brother’.

Brienne’s eyes sparkled when she turned her attention to Tyrion and smiled at him. ‘Brienne Tarth, I’m Jaime’s roommate.’ 

‘I know who you are, Jaime can’t stop talking about you.’ Jaime’s eyes widened and he kicked Tyrion with his foot beneath the table. Jaime hoped Brienne wouldn’t think that he would speak ill about her, like Ron.

Luckily she seemed fine and just smiled at Tyrion’s comment. Like he was just being nice and didn’t really mean that Jaime was actually talking about her. Like it wasn’t possible that anyone would care to think about Brienne when she was not around... Although if Jaime must admit it, he did seemed to talk a lot about Brienne lately. But they were roommates after all, plus they had the same interests, so really it isn’t weird that Brienne would come up in the conversations with his brother.

Brienne was lost in conversation with Tyrion, talking about their different classes and about history. Tyrion was, just as Brienne, a history nerd. He knew those two would get along together. Even though it might seem that they have nothing in common, especially if you look just at appearances - and hight specifically - they really are getting along nicely.

Although it is a bit of a funny sight, with Tyrion’s dwarfism and Brienne’s tall stature. Tyrion was just talking to Brienne about this ancient sword called Catspaw when Brienne looked at her watch. Her eyes widened.

‘I’m so so sorry Tyrion, but my class starts at 5 minutes. It was nice to meet you. See you tonight Jaime!’ And before he knew it, she took off and practically ran toward her class.

Jaime watched her turn the corner, before he turned his attention back to Tyrion… who was already looking at him.

‘Sooo…’ Tyrion dragged out the ‘o’ in this word (which really isn’t a good sign if he knows his brother) ‘when were you gonna tell me that you are in love with Brienne Tarth?’

That caught him off guard. ‘What? I’m not- I’m not in love with Brienne?’ Jaime was flabbergasted. He was getting along really really well with Brienne lately and yes he loved spending time with her and talking about medieval weaponry and _Knights of Westeros_ with her, but that doesn’t mean that he was in love with her.

‘Jaime, seriously, you look like she is the literal sun in your life. You can’t stop talking about her and just now I could practically wipe the drool of your face when she was talking about swords.’ Tyrion wiggled his eyebrows at him, which elicited a laugh from Jaime.

‘Tyrion, you know I love you, but you are completely wrong.’ He was wrong after all. He was in no way in love with Brienne Tarth. And even, hypothetically of course, if he was, there is no way that Brienne was also in love with him. She was way to good and pure for, well basically everyone, but especially him.

Tyrion stood up. ‘Jaime, you’re an idiot sometimes, you know that right?’ And with that Tyrion left the cafeteria leaving Jaime with a puzzled feeling behind.

-

Today Jaime had a class again with Brienne and he was looking forward to it. Today they would talk about the first female knight in history and about the sword, Oathkeeper, she wielded. He knew Brienne loved everything about this knight and he couldn’t wait to discuss this class with her. Except when he was walking into class, something was different. Brienne was already seated in her usual spot (nothing exceptional there, because Brienne was always early in class), but the seat next to her was already taken. Hyle Hunt had already taken a seat next to her.

Jaime gritted his teeth and walked into the classroom. Brienne looked up at him when she heard footsteps approaching and she gave him an apologetic look. Hyle just smirked at Jaime and winked at him. He didn’t like that at all. Something feels off about him. But since Brienne didn’t seemed to mind to sit next to Hyle, he walked over to a seat a few rows behind Brienne.

During class Jaime had a hard time concentrating. He couldn’t take his eyes of Hyle and Brienne. They looked like they already knew each other and Brienne even smiled every now and then at something Hyle said.

Something twisted in Jaime’s stomach and he was glad when the class was almost over. He couldn’t focus on anything and he was glad he already knew a lot about this subject, because otherwise he was sure he wouldn't do well for the test. When finally this class, which really felt like it took twice as long as usual, was finally over, he was glad to see Brienne and Hyle part ways.

Brienne was still packing her bag when Jaime walked by. When she noticed him a smile lit up her whole face and her eyes shined like sapphires. Jaime suddenly had a hard time swallowing.

‘Jaime, wasn’t this class fantastic?! Did you know that the female knight, whose name is still a mystery to everyone, fought a bear. A BEAR Jaime! And she even had her own squire?!’

Jaime smiled at her enthusiasm and Brienne was talking at least 10 more minutes about this class and everything she learned (and already knew) about that knight. When they were outside she told him she still had to run some errands so she would be home later.

Jaime was slowly walking toward their apartment. He was convincing himself that in no way Tyrion was right about him being in love with Brienne Tarth. Definitely not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brienne meets Hyle Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> First i'm so sorry for this late update, but a couple weeks ago i tested positive for Covid-19 and I was really ill. So i didn't have the energy to write anything. But i'm all better now and finally have the energy to post again, so today i'll be posting chapters 5 and 6! :) I hope you'll enjoy this update.  
> I'm not a native speaker, so any mistakes are mine.

After the revelations Brienne and Jaime shared with each other things have changed. Not only because they now spend more time together both in college and at home, but also her feelings for Jaime have changed. Sure, she always thought of him as the most handsome man she has ever seen but now that she knows his real story, she also really like the man who he really is. So much even that when he smiles at her she feels something stir in her stomach. Something she doesn’t want to feel, because even though she and Jaime are friends now, he would never ever fall in love with her. It’s Renly all over again.

She met Renly in high school. He was one of the most beautiful guys she had ever laid eyes on. She always thought he didn’t notice her, but during prom when she was standing all alone by herself trying to be invisible, he saw her. He walked up to her, asked her to dance and she had the most amazing evening of her life. Of course after that she developed a huge crush on the guy. Always blushing when he entered a room or said her name. But then she discovered that he was gay when he started dating Loras Tyrell. It broke her heart and she didn’t leave her room for three days after that.

No, this wouldn’t happen to Jaime as well. Not that she thought that he was gay, but she needed to protect her heart. No way that Jaime, a golden lion who looked like half a god, could ever be in love with ugly Brienne. She has accepted that and tries to ignore her feelings. Luckily they only have one class together, so during her days in college she can try to suppress her feelings.

One day when she was walking into one of her classes Hyle Hunt started to sit next to her. Normally she sits by herself on the front row so you can imagine Brienne’s surprise when she suddenly found Hyle Hunt sitting next to her. At first she was wary, because he never spoke to her before and after what had happened to her in high school she promised herself to never let something like that happen again. But to her surprise Hyle didn’t try anything. He just said something to her every now and then and he really seemed sincere and nice. Brienne was confused, but was sure this was just a one time thing. Probably one of Hyle’s friends was ill that day so he didn’t had anyone to sit next to.

But then Hyle sat next to her again the next day. Giving her a genuine smile and talking to her about the class. They both followed the ancient languages class. Brienne tried to keep her answers as short as possible, especially since she saw some of Hyle’s friends from the corner of her eyes looking their way. At the end of that day she was standing by her locker, grabbing some books she needed to study when she found Hyle standing next to her again. ‘Hi’, he said with a smile. Brienne mumbled a greeting in reply and was turning around to walk away, but Hyle was just following her.

‘So, we are both doing ancient languages and I was wondering if you wanted to be my partner for the assignement mr. Tarly gave us today?’

Brienne stopped in surprise and looked at him with big eyes.

‘Why?’ she said.

‘Why what?’ Hyle said, confused.

‘Why would you want to be my partner for mr. Tarly’s assignment? I’m sure you have many friends who would gladly be your partner.’

‘Well, I’m sure they do, but between you and me they don’t really make an effort and I’m sure I will be the one doing all the work again and you’re really nice to talk to. You work hard, you know what you talk about and I just really like hanging out with you.’

Brienne blinked once. Twice. But couldn’t figure out for the life of her why he would lie about this. The worst case scenario would be that she would be doing all the work, which she was used to by now so that wouldn’t change anything. Before she could change her mind she heard herself say ‘yes, I would love that.’

Hyle’s face lit up. ‘Great! Shall we start tomorrow afternoon in the library?’ Brienne nodded in agreement and with a wave Hyle turned around and left.

Still Brienne wasn’t a hundred percent sure about his intentions, but having a workpartner for the assignment really could do no harm and besides she actually likes Hyle.

After they worked on the assignement together, for which they actually got an A-, Hyle still wanted to hang out with her. Although she was weary at first, she still wouldn’t be surprised if he had a hidden agenda, Hyle also was really nice to her when no one was around. And if he had any bad intentions, or would mock her, he wouldn’t do that now, would he?

One day after class, when she was walking alone to her apartment – Jaime still had another class at college so they couldn’t walk home together today – Hyle caught up with her. He seemed nervous, he was fidgeting with his jacket and wouldn’t look her in they eyes. Which made Brienne nervous that there was something wrong. ‘Hyle, what’s wrong?’ ‘Nothing’, he quickly said. He sighed. ‘Brienne, I really like you and I was wondering if you want to go out with me tomorrow night? On a date?’

Brienne stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him. ‘You want to go on a date. With me?’ No one has ever asked her out before. No one. Sure she liked spending time with Hyle, but she hadn’t even considered the possibility to go out with him. She never had any reason to since no one wanted to go out with her anyway. Sure, she was pretty sure she was in love with Jaime, but she knew that that was never going to be any more then a silly fantasy and she actually really enjoyed Hyle’s company.

‘Yes, I would love to go on a date with you Hyle.’ It was a leap of faith, but sometimes you have to take a little risk in life, don’t you?

His face lit op and his lips turned into a smile. ‘Do you know the ‘Highgarden’ restaurant? Shall we meet up there tomorrow at 7 P.M.?’ Brienne nodded in reply. Hyle smiled at her again. And Brienne averted her gaze to the ground trying to stop the blush creeping up. ‘I’m looking forward to it’. Brienne heard him turn around and leave.

I’m going on my first date tomorrow, she thought by herself and Brienne couldn’t stop a small smile from spreading on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this update! Kudos and comments give me life <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaime discovers Brienne goes on a date and realises he is jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll enjoy the update!

It was Saturday afternoon and since Jaime was up to date with all his college projects he decided to relax a bit and binge watch a show on Raven+. His attention was focused on the tv show he was watching, until he heard Brienne come out of the bathroom. Automatically he turned around to ask her if she wanted to watch the show with him, but before he could say anything his jaw dropped to the floor and he was unable to speak any coherent sentences.

He expected Brienne to come out of the shower in her usual sweatpants and oversized shirt, something she often wears at the weekend. But instead of sweatpants, she was only wearing a towel around her body. He saw miles and miles of her legs – seriously how was that even possible – and discovered that her freckles didn’t only cover her face, but in fact covered her whole body.

This immediately triggered a fantasy of Jaime kissing and licking his way all over her body, mapping out all the freckles on her legs, arms, belly, and chest. He would kiss them, lick them, bite them and hear Brienne moan his name and- shit! He feels something stir in his pants and he was glad he was seated on the couch, because he was sure Brienne was otherwise able to see his very obvious arousal.

Brienne was looking at him, blushing ferociously. Jaime then noticed that he was still staring at her, without saying anything so he cleared his throat and wanted to give her an explanation – what kind of explanation he wasn’t sure of – but then Brienne saved him from saying anything awkward.

‘IforgottoputmyclothesinthebathroombeforeItookashower’, she said so fast that Jaime could barely understand her. And before he could give a reply she fled toward her room and closed the door behind her.

Jaime turned around again to try to watch the show he was watching but he couldn’t concentrate at all. All he could think of was how Brienne looked with just a towel wrapped around her and how he wished to discover her body with his hands and lips. How she would look in his bed, naked, with her strong legs wrapped around his body… Gods those legs would be the dead of him and he was sure those legs would hunt his dreams for this night and many nights to come.

The thing is, he was pretty sure Brienne didn’t like him the way he liked her. Every time she walked into a room, the room suddenly seemed so much brighter and just hearing her say his name made his heart leap in his chest. Sure Brienne liked spending time with him, but she never gave any indication that she liked him as well. He was pretty sure he was deep into the friendzone.

When Brienne finally excited her room Jaime expected her to join him on the couch. He was somewhat capable of hiding is obvious arousal, but he had put a pillow on his lap just to be sure. But instead of sitting next to him, he heard Brienne put on her shoes. When he turned around again, she again made him speechless. Brienne was wearing a short, blue dress which barely graced her knees. Not only did she look like an amazon, this dress made her legs look like they went on for miles, it also accentuated her eyes. It was like the stars and see came together in her sapphire blue eyes and he was sure that any man could drown in those eyes. It took him a second before he realised that she was dressed to go out. And that was… unusual. Brienne has never once go out dressed like that on a Saturday night. She never dressed like that at all for that matter. Which was a shame, because that dress looked amazing on her. Or maybe he was lucky she didn’t dress like that too often, otherwise he probably would have a boner all the time and that would be awkward to say the least.

‘Going somewhere?’ He gestured at her. His voice sounding hoarse. His gaze lingered at her face before lowering down to inspect her dress and heels.

‘As a matter of fact I am. I have a date.’ Brienne beamed at him. She looked so happy. Brienne hasn’t gone out on a date, or go out in general, since she lived here and he doubted she went on many dates before that. So it was a surprise to him that she suddenly now has a date. And who is this mysterious guy she is going to see? She hasn’t talked about anyone that peaked her interest and certainly not someone she wanted to go out with.

‘You? You have a date?’ Jaime himself heard how harsh the sentence had left his mouth. He looked at her face and saw the hurt creeping in her sapphire blue eyes. He immediately regretted saying what he said. Shit! He didn’t mean to sound like that, but seeing her in that dress caught him of guard. Also the thought of her going out with another man made him feel uncomfortable. Of course Brienne wasn’t his, and he never did anything to give her any reason to think so, but something roared in him. Something that felt an awful lot like jealousy. He was shocked at the realisation. He knew he liked Brienne, but didn’t realised how deep his feelings for her were. When he looked in her eyes again he realised he hadn’t answered her yet.

‘Brienne, I..’ he tried to apologise, but Brienne cut him off.

‘No Jaime, you made yourself perfectly clear. How can big, ugly Brienne ever have a date? Well, it turns out that some men are capable of looking past appearances.’ With tears in her eyes she turned around, stalked to the door and left.

Jaime looked at the door through which she just disappeared. He stood there for what felt like ages, before he moved again. He felt the need to punch something but he restrained himself. Shit, shit, shit! Why does he always mess everything up? He is such an idiot. It was just seeing her like that and hearing she had a date, that he had felt jealous. Lately he began to realise he liked Brienne more then just a friend and tonight he has realised that he might actually be in love with her.

It has been ages since anyone has turned him one, since he’s had those kind of feelings. It’s just his luck to only realise he is in love with her when Brienne actually has a date. Now that he thinks of it, because of their argument he completely forgot to ask WHO she was on a date with tonight. Does he know the guy? How does Brienne know him? He stalked up and down the apartment. All he could think about was Brienne on that damn date.

To try to get his mind off it, he decided to turn the tv show back on, but he had a hard time concentrating. His mind constantly went back to their argument, to Brienne coming out of the bathroom and to Brienne who was now on a date. Did she have fun? Did she actually like the guy? Will they go out on a second date? What if she decides to spend the night there? He wasn't planning on waiting for her to come back from her date but soon he fell asleep on the couch. He woke up from the sound of the front door being shut. He looked at the clock, 11 PM. So the date wasn't that good to spent the night there. He couldn’t help but feel extremely relieved about that.

When he heard footsteps entering the living room he turned his head to look at Brienne. She was obviously startled since she didn’t expect Jaime to be waiting for her.

‘J-Jaime, why are you still up?’ Brienne asked startled. Her eyes not really meeting his gaze.

‘I fell asleep on the couch while watching tv,’ he answered. ‘How was your date?’ he asked when Brienne walked further into the living room.

‘I don't want to talk about it.’ Brienne never was the type to discuss personal matters to him but there was something in her voice that worried him. She sounded wounded. Jaime quickly stood up from the couch so he could look at her more carefully.

‘Brienne are you okay? What happened?’ Jaime asked worriedly.

‘Nothing happened, it just turned out that Hyle wasn't who I thought he was.’

‘Wait, you went on a date with Hyle freaking Hunt?! He is the biggest jerk I know. Well, besides of Ron Connington of course’ He saw Brienne and Hyle together during one class, but he thought that was just a one time thing. He had no idea Brienne saw him more often, otherwise he would have warned her about him. He has heard many awful things about Hyle, especially how he treats women. And obviously he would’ve talked to Hyle cunt if he knew he spent so much time with Brienne.

‘Yeah, I learned that too tonight.’ Her voice trailed off and he saw her eyes full of hurt and unshed tears. Jaime was with her in two strides. He gently cupped her face with his hands. ‘Brienne, look at me, what happened? What did he do?’

‘I.. he..’ she took a deep breath to steady herself.

‘He wasn't who I thought he was.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are love <3


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